Amid concerns about excessive force, the New York Police Department unveiled a new program on Thursday to document physical encounters officers have with the public and to discourage using force in the first place.
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The NYPD rulebook fails to define what constitutes “excessive”, despite prohibiting “excessive force”, Inspector General Philip Eure’s report notes.
Of 104 substantiated excessive force allegations Inspector General’s Office investigators analyzed, the NYPD imposed no discipline in connection with 37.
The new policies will result in “significant reductions in the use of force by our officers”, he said. Under the new guidelines, officers will also start tracking when force is used against them. “I think one of the most powerful forces affecting New York City and its police department is this growing awareness in the rest of America – it’s the policing equivalent of the Confederate flag”.
“We’re now going to document all types of force more accurately, more cohesively”, Davis said.
“We are now applying the same policy, oversight and training principles to all uses of force, not just firearms”, he said.
Bratton claims that force was only used in 2 percent of arrests a year ago, but 3 percent of arrests included charges of resisting, which indicates that force is underreported.
Police officers “are not only missing opportunities to deescalate, but are sometimes actively escalating situations with members of the public”, the report said.
One goal the commissioner outlined today was to track use of force better. “They’ll understand that they’re really doing a good job”, said another New Yorker.
“More paperwork coupled with a serious shortage of police officers and the continual second-guessing of their actions is a formula for disaster”, Mr. Lynch said.
Deputy Commissioner Stephen Davis told reporters on Thursday that the department’s policies regarding use of force had been “completely revamped and consolidated”.
The guidelines also come at the same time that the NYPD is handing out 900 Tasers to cops on the beat, because nothing says “model of restraint” and “de-escelation” like 50,000 volts in the tuchus. It is a call for police officers to disengage themselves from the very proactive policing that brought this city from the brink of disaster in the 1990s.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the changes were “welcome recognition” of longstanding criticisms of police transparency with regard to use of force. Where force is necessary for public safety and order, the police must have our full support.
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In late 2014, Reason TV reported from a pro-NYPD rally held after massive protests critical of the NYPD erupted all over New York City following the non-indictment of Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner.
